Biology, Ecology, and Significance of Terrestrial Snails: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Snails belonging to the Phylum Mollusca, class Gastropoda, are the Pulmonates that form the second most successful phylum across the world. They constitute simple structures with a fully developed head and a foot that performs all the essential functions for their survival. The shells serve a variety of purposes, including the identification, classification, and aging of species. Although they are distributed globally, several environmental factors, such as climate, season, vegetation, and soil, affect their distribution. They have adapted themselves to these environmental changes by allowing alterations at the physical, behavioral, and cellular levels. Snails serve as herbivores, fungivores, detritivores, predators, prey, and intermediate hosts. They cause a huge economic loss by threatening agricultural and horticultural crops. They possess significant medical importance because they are valued for their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties. They serve an important role in the transmission of parasitic diseases, where some countries use them as an important food source. Extensive research has been done on the identification and investigation of the abundance, diversity, and distribution in different ecosystems. This review provides an overview of their characteristics, distribution, feeding habits, behavior, and significance of terrestrial snails.